Clek infant-thingy Review

When the Clek Foonf and Clek Fllo convertible car seats were first released, their 14 pound minimum weight limit made them impossible for the tinest of babies to use. The infant-thingy insert can be used with both the Foonf and Fllo for children who weigh just 5 pounds and are at least and 19 inche long.

Clek Foonf with the infant-thingy

CSFTL Quick Stats:

Rear facing weight limit: 5-22 pounds

Rear facing height limit: 19-33 inches tall

The infant-thingy is covered in the same Crypton fabric that many Clek car seats and boosters use. According to the Clek website, Crypton fabric “provides permanent protection against stains, moisture and odor-causing bacteria; and are free of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants.” In other words, Crypton will appeal to those families who are concerned about some flame resistant chemicals used on car seats.

Clek Foonf without the headrest

The infant-thingy head support and car seat’s own headrest cannot be used at the same time, so the first step to use the infant-thingy is removing the car seat headrest. The Foonf and Fllo both ship with detached headrests, so when using this seat straight out of the box for a new baby just leave the headrest off and save a step if you plan on using both pieces of the infant-thingy. Removing a Clek convertible headrest can be a bit tricky, but the Troubleshooting Tool stored on the back of the seat makes quick work of headrest removal.

Clek Troubleshooting Tool (used to remove the headrest) is stored on the back of the seat

Once the headrest is removed, add the infant-thingy. The infant-thingy comes in two pieces, the body support and head support. They can be used together or separately depending on child’s size and parental preference.

The bottom piece is easy to put in: simply thread the harnesses into the hip slots on the infant-thingy. When using the infant-thingy, the hip supports need to go between the infant’s hips and harness. This part was easy to miss and the hip supports sometimes tried to slip, so be sure to harness baby according to the instructions in the manual.

Clek infant-thingy manual on using the hip supports

Thread the crotch buckle through the buckle slot of the body support and then reattach the buckle pad. The buckle pad is required until the child hits 22 pounds; at that point the buckle pad can be removed and the infant-thingy must be removed. When using the body support of the infant-thingy, the closest crotch buckle position to the child must be used. You may, however, use the longer crotch buckle length when using the body support. When only using the head support, follow the crotch buckle rules of your Clek convertible seat.

Clek convertible using the infant loops on the harness

Next, thread the harness through the lowest harness slots and attach the harness to the metal splitter plate in back of the seat using the smaller set of harness loops. The excess harness goes behind the splitter plate, not in front like some seats do, as shown here. The lowest harness position is used until the child’s shoulders are even with the next highest position.

Head support of Clek infant-thingy attached to the third harness slot above the one in use

The head support of the infant-thingy has plastic clips on the back that are used to attach the support to the seat by threading through the unused harness slots. The head support clips need to be attached to the third set of harness slots above the harness slot currently being used. If the child’s head goes over the top of the head support, the head support may be raised to the next harness position. Once the head is over the top of the head support in its highest position, the head support should be removed and car seat headrest used instead. Remember to add the body support again if the child doesn’t meet the requirements it use the seat without it. The attachment clips in this picture show proper placement as shown in the manual.

The bottom harness position of the pre-2015 Clek models is 10 inches. The lowest harness slot on seats made after 2015 is 8 inches. The manual allows for a child to be either 5 pounds or 19 inches long to ride in the seat with the infant-thingy. Clek does not require the harness to be even with or below the shoulders as long as baby is using the bottom harness position. Other guidelines are the same: the harness must pass the pinch test and chest clip needs to be at the child’s armpit level.

Bottom harness slots on the Clek Foonf with the infant-thingy in use. Above the shoulders is correct.

This is what the 10 inch bottom harness slots look like with our newborn Huggable Images doll. She weighs 7 pounds and is the height of an average newborn baby.

In a Foonf or Fllo with the 8 inch lowest harness slots, the harness will just be peeking over the black insert. The harness would still be above her shoulders, but won’t be as high above them.

When using the infant-thingy, this seat can be used with the bottom harness position above baby’s shoulders.

The rules for using the various portions of the infant-thingy can be a bit confusing. Here’s a handy chart to help decide which parts need to be used with the Clek convertibles for infants.

Weight

Both Pieces

Head Support Only

Body Support Only Using Car Seat Headrest

Under 11 pounds

Required

No

No

11-14 pounds

Optional

Required unless child’s head is over the support in highest position

Required if head support has been outgrown

Over 14 pounds but does not meet all requirements to use the seat

Optional

Required unless child’s head is over the support in highest position

Required if head support has been outgrown

Meets all requirements to use the seat

Can use until 22 pounds or 33″ or head over the head support

Can use until 22 pounds or 33″ or head over the head support

Can use until 22 lbs or 33″

Fit to Child

Newborn Doll

Newborn doll, 7 pounds using the Clek Foonf with infant-thingy

Our newborn doll is 7 pounds and average length for a newborn baby. She fits well in the Clek Foonf with the infant-thingy; the harness is tight and the chest clip is on the chest, but the harness is above her shoulders by a good 2″ at least. Since her weight is below 11 pounds, the complete infant-thingy must be used.

One Year Old

This model just turned one and is a petite 18 pounds and 28.5 inches tall. She is the perfect size to use the Clek Fllo with or without the infant-thingy. She can also use the body support with the car seat headrest or the head support only and no body support. She could also use the complete infant-thingy as she is under the height and weight limit and her head is below the top of the head support. She fit great all three ways even though she too was not impressed with only five harness slots!

Clek Fllo with Fallon (12 mos., 18 pounds and 28.5 inches) showing the various ways to use the infant-thingy

With the infant-thingy, the Foonf and Fllo will be great choices for most babies. The sixth slot on most 2015 models of the Clek Foonf and Fllo offer more fit options, but the five slot seat still works well with the infant-thingy. You can find the infant-thingy on Amazon.com for $69.99.

While Clek did provide the infant-thingy for review, we received no other compensations. As always, all words are all my own.

Originally written by Jennifer Penick. Edits maintained by CSFTL.

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